Archivists assess, collect, organise, preserve and provide access to records and archives. Records maintained are in any format, analogue or digital and include several kinds of media (documents, photographs, video and sound recordings, etc.).

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Evaluating and preserving records for administrative, historical, legal, evidential and other purposes;
(b) Directing or carrying out the preparation of indexes, bibliographies, microfilm copies and other reference aids to the collected material and making them available to users;
(c) Researching the origin, distribution and use of materials and objects of cultural and historical interest;
(d) Organizing, developing and maintaining collections of artistic, cultural, scientific or historically significant items;
(e) Directing or undertaking classification and cataloguing of museum and art gallery collections and organizing exhibitions;
(f) Researching into, appraising, organizing and preserving historically significant and valuable documents such as government papers, private papers, photographs, maps, manuscripts and audiovisual materials;
(g) Preparing scholarly papers and reports;
(h) Planning and implementing the computerized management of archives and electronic records;
(i) Organizing exhibitions at museums and art galleries, publicizing exhibits and arranging special displays for general, specialized or educational interest;
(j) Appraising and acquiring archival materials to build and develop an archival collection for research purposes.